COURSE NUMBER: MBA292N.1

COURSE TITLE: Large-Scale Social Change

UNITS OF CREDIT: 2

INSTRUCTOR: Nora Silver

E-MAIL ADDRESS: silver@haas.berkeley.edu

PREREQUISITE(S): None

CLASS FORMAT: The class explores significant social change movements through written cases, articles, portions of books, films, podcasts, featured guests and more.

REQUIRED READINGS: Readings will take the form of written cases, featured guests, portions of books, films, articles, podcasts, and more, and will be available on bCourses.

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE (The final grade will be based on class attendance and participation (40%), an individual paper analyzing a social movement (20%), a group project designing a social movements (30%), and an individual reflection paper (10%).

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES: Haas students have repeatedly demonstrated their desire for opportunities to engage in healthy discussions about meaningful social issues. There has been a growing need for a class that provides the frameworks and tools necessary to usher in positive, large-scale social change. History is packed with examples of this social change in action, from Indian independence to marriage equality. Behind many of these advancements lies a social movement: collective action by ordinary people working outside existing institutional frameworks toward a common goal, with the intent to disrupt the status quo. Graduate students interested in creating large-scale impact often take courses on leading and managing individual institutions. Yet much large-scale social change occurs extra-institutionally, beyond the purview of individual businesses, governments, and social sector organizations. In this course, we will move beyond the walls of traditional institutions and society, building an understanding of the key levers available to those seeking to create major social change: Rising business leaders also have much to learn from social movements. As the line between businesses and social movements continues to blur, leaders from each sphere will increasingly stand to learn from one another. This course will teach all of us to think big, look beyond traditional institutional change, and challenge ourselves as we learn to apply different levers to myriad issues and constituencies. It will help us appreciate and understand how movements around the world have mobilized and, crucially, how we might contribute to large-scale social change in our future.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: Nora Silver is Adjunct Professor and Director of the Center for Nonprofit and Public Leadership at Haas. She brings over 30 years of leadership experience as a two-time social sector founder, executive director, board member, and funder of social sector organizations. She has consulted internationally with more than 200 organizations, authored books and articles on leadership and community involvement, and lectured at universities and conferences around the world.